Outdoors report

Bluegills ‘biting like crazy’

June 26, 2010

IRON MOUNTAIN - Fish were active this past week, with bluegill anglers enjoying the most success.

"Guys were doing pretty good on bluegills, decent size, too" said Tom Bean at Crystal Bait in Crystal Falls. "The gills are mostly biting on crawlers and wax worms. Some guys have caught muskie, but mostly undersize fish."

Bob Kennard at Midtown Bait and Tackle in Channing said bluegills were "biting like crazy" on wax worms.

"Panfish, especially bluegill, are biting on lakes in the northern part of Dickinson County and southern Marquette County," he said.

"Others reported some walleye action on the gravel beds in the Michigamme Reservoir."

"Guys are catching bluegill again on the shorelines," said Patti Teske at Florence Sport and Bait. "A lot of smallmouth have been caught, and some muskie are hitting on spinners on the river."

Star Martin at Whispering Pines Outpost also said a lot of bluegills are being caught.

"Bass is still doing really good on Gene's Pond," she added. "Some walleye have been caught at Peavy. Guys are using crawlers and minnows."

With all the rain of the past week, water levels continue to rise.

"Trout fishermen are doing quite a bit better now with the higher water levels," said Don Ciochetto at The Sport Shop in Iron River.

"Panfish and northern fishermen are doing fairly well. Walleye is still rather quiet."

Panfishing is good on Lake Antoine, according to Dean Lindblom at Country Bait and Tackle.

"Perch and walleye were hitting on Peavy," he added. "For the most part it's been pretty good fishing. We're selling lots of crawlers and still some fatheads and crappie minnows."

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment reported the following fishing conditions in the Upper Peninsula:

Black River Harbor - Salmon are still in the area and those trolling in 75 to 120 feet of water have caught them with a dodger and fly. Lake trout fishing was slow.

Ontonagon - Those able to get out have caught lake trout when trolling a couple feet off the bottom in waters 100 feet deep. Orange and green spoons worked best.

Keweenaw Bay - Lake trout fishing was good in Traverse Bay when jigging in 220 to 265 feet of water. Those trolling reported slower catch rates.

Marquette - Had light fishing activity with only a few coho and lake trout caught near Granite Island and the Sand Hole.

Little Bay De Noc - Has a lot of food out there right now with the mayfly hatches and the alewife moving in. Best walleye catches were off the mouth of the Escanaba River but most were sub-legal. Anglers were drifting or trolling crawler harnesses. Night anglers caught a few fish off the ship docks in Escanaba when trolling crank baits or jigging crawlers in 20 to 25 feet of water. Several nice catches of perch were reported in the Narrows when still-fishing minnows in 13 to 25 feet of water. Northern pike were active just off the coal piles at the Gladstone Power Plant. Try trolling crank baits in 10 to 14 feet of water.

Escanaba River - Had good walleye fishing however many were sub-legal. Most were drifting or trolling crawler harness in 10 to 25 feet of water.

Big Bay De Noc - Still had good walleye reports off Ansell's Point when trolling harnesses with crawlers in 16 to 22 feet of water. Smallmouth bass were active throughout the bay. The fish were off the beds and hitting on crank baits, tube baits or crawlers in 10 to 20 feet of water. There is a large mayfly hatch here as well so anglers were targeting the bug lines in search of fish. Off Fairport, more anglers are salmon fishing as catch rates increase when trolling spoons or imitation meat rigs 40 to 90 feet down in waters 80 to 120 feet deep. Good numbers of steelhead were caught in the shallow waters near the bug lines.

Indian Lake - Catch rates were slow however a few walleye were caught. The biggest concentration of boats has been along the west and the north shore. Smallmouth bass and northern pike were also caught however few were keepers. Some tried anchoring and jigging for yellow perch. Again, the bite was slow but enough fish were caught for a meal.

Munising - Had slow fishing overall. Smaller lake trout were caught near the Big Reef and a couple pike were caught off the city dock.